Honister Pass Accident - thanks if you're on here!
Discussion
I made an utterly schoolboy error on Friday - having taken delivery of the new Felt, I had a loop around the lake district I wanted to do so I could benchmark it against my trusty Bianchi.
Pedalling out from Keswick along Derwentwater, I was besotted.
The climb up Honister was tougher than I had expected - but I hadn't taken the AR3's gearing into account. It was when I got to the top that the mistake was made.
Rather than:
"First descent on this new bike - lets see how it handles"
I thought
"This bike feels fast - time to find out HOW fast"
Well I wasn't wrong - it flies.
It flew especially well when, nudging 45mph into a right hand bend, the rear twitched, I touched the brakes - bad time to discover just how much better brand new Ultegras are vs 5 year old Campag Veloce. I unweighted the rear, and it touched down sideways.
Anyway - along with the couple of cars that stopped:
There was a lovely girl on a white and pink Boardman making the climb in the opposite direction - she stopped at the YHA at the top to call for the ambulance - thankyou and can I have your number? lol
The guys from what I think were the Broadmere Bullets - again, thanks for stopping. I hadn't realised how important it was to have people around until the first few cars that passed didn't stop, then I started to panic a bit.
Every other time I've come off a bike, it has been a case of ignoring the pain and checking the bike is OK first and foremost. On this occasion I was taken by surprise - despite my bike being less than 9 miles old, I was in so much pain that at that point I just wanted to get it off the road and curl up.
Amazingly - nothing broken. I'm grazed, bruised and have some pulled muscles, but can't wait to get back on the bike - which, even more amazingly, is totally unscathed barring a scuffed QR lever and a bit of damage to the brake hood.
Lucky boy.
But thanks to those who stopped.
I'll also be making a donation to the Great North Air Ambulance.
Pedalling out from Keswick along Derwentwater, I was besotted.
The climb up Honister was tougher than I had expected - but I hadn't taken the AR3's gearing into account. It was when I got to the top that the mistake was made.
Rather than:
"First descent on this new bike - lets see how it handles"
I thought
"This bike feels fast - time to find out HOW fast"
Well I wasn't wrong - it flies.
It flew especially well when, nudging 45mph into a right hand bend, the rear twitched, I touched the brakes - bad time to discover just how much better brand new Ultegras are vs 5 year old Campag Veloce. I unweighted the rear, and it touched down sideways.
Anyway - along with the couple of cars that stopped:
There was a lovely girl on a white and pink Boardman making the climb in the opposite direction - she stopped at the YHA at the top to call for the ambulance - thankyou and can I have your number? lol
The guys from what I think were the Broadmere Bullets - again, thanks for stopping. I hadn't realised how important it was to have people around until the first few cars that passed didn't stop, then I started to panic a bit.
Every other time I've come off a bike, it has been a case of ignoring the pain and checking the bike is OK first and foremost. On this occasion I was taken by surprise - despite my bike being less than 9 miles old, I was in so much pain that at that point I just wanted to get it off the road and curl up.
Amazingly - nothing broken. I'm grazed, bruised and have some pulled muscles, but can't wait to get back on the bike - which, even more amazingly, is totally unscathed barring a scuffed QR lever and a bit of damage to the brake hood.
Lucky boy.
But thanks to those who stopped.
I'll also be making a donation to the Great North Air Ambulance.
Having looked at a video of someone heading down the same stretch of road, the oh-cock-to-rest distance was about twenty metres.
The proximity to the dry stone wall is frightening (it was even more so whilst I was in the air).
I've checked over every inch of the frame and fork - the fact it's bare carbon helps as it means there's nothing going on underneath paintwork. I'm wondering if it's worth getting it x-rayed or something just to be 100% sure?
I'll certainly take it easier down there next time. TBH I'll probably stop where I crashed to inspect it out of curiosity.
I'll put some pics up later!
The proximity to the dry stone wall is frightening (it was even more so whilst I was in the air).
I've checked over every inch of the frame and fork - the fact it's bare carbon helps as it means there's nothing going on underneath paintwork. I'm wondering if it's worth getting it x-rayed or something just to be 100% sure?
I'll certainly take it easier down there next time. TBH I'll probably stop where I crashed to inspect it out of curiosity.
I'll put some pics up later!
donfisher said:
Did someone mention crashing a bike? Paging Yellowjack.
Sounds like you were amazingly lucky. How far did you travel down the road?
Someone called?Sounds like you were amazingly lucky. How far did you travel down the road?
In fairness, it wasn't me that crashed my bike, I was riding it fairly sensibly on a flat road when a van thumped into me on a roundabout
Keith2.2 sounds like a very lucky chap, considering his speed and the downhill gradient. Folk have died on steep descents after loosing control of the bike. Nice to have someone stop for you, though. And for the record, I didn't get my helicopter ride, neither. The Air Ambulance doctor declared me fit to go by road, as they had a far more urgent case to attend.
As someone else mentioned, though, get the bike looked over before riding it again. Just to be safe. Visually, my aluminium frame looked OK, but when both sides were compared using angles and straight-edges, it was obvious that all was not well with it.
Speedy recovery from the gravel rash and muscle pulls, Keith! And take a bit more care when on an unfamiliar bike, eh!
Glad you're OK, a nice little reminder for the rest of us, thanks 
Steve - don't sweat the descents. They're not difficult or dangerous unless you're going too fast - I was pedalling a 52 / 12. Honister is an easy descent <40mph
When I rode my Bianchi on the same route (an alu / carbon C2C - so very much an all day bike) my highest speed was heading down the straight section of Newlands - approaching 60mph. That was spinning out a 50 / 12 and wearing a baggy jacket. I have no doubt that had I made it that far, >60mph would not have been at all difficult to reach on the felt, wearing lycra.
The thing to remember - you don't HAVE to ride quickly. TBH if you're not fussed about doing so, then cruise down and enjoy them whilst saving your legs for the climb.
Frame is being checked as best it can be (magnifying glass, torch, tap-test). I'll be back in the gym this eve and back on the bike this weekend.
I'll be taking some time to get used to the bike before going after any downhill KOMs!
When I rode my Bianchi on the same route (an alu / carbon C2C - so very much an all day bike) my highest speed was heading down the straight section of Newlands - approaching 60mph. That was spinning out a 50 / 12 and wearing a baggy jacket. I have no doubt that had I made it that far, >60mph would not have been at all difficult to reach on the felt, wearing lycra.
The thing to remember - you don't HAVE to ride quickly. TBH if you're not fussed about doing so, then cruise down and enjoy them whilst saving your legs for the climb.
Frame is being checked as best it can be (magnifying glass, torch, tap-test). I'll be back in the gym this eve and back on the bike this weekend.
I'll be taking some time to get used to the bike before going after any downhill KOMs!
keith2.2 said:
When I rode my Bianchi on the same route (an alu / carbon C2C - so very much an all day bike) my highest speed was heading down the straight section of Newlands - approaching 60mph. That was spinning out a 50 / 12 and wearing a baggy jacket.
Blimey, I bet your legs were a blur at 180rpm! 
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